


"Something Dangerous" in Bucky Barnes

by brooklynkings (SouthSideStory)



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Meta, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Character Analysis, Gen, Meta, The Winter Soldier Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 22:20:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7549465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthSideStory/pseuds/brooklynkings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a narrative and character analysis standpoint, it’s fascinating to examine the groundwork for the Winter Soldier that Sebastian laid within his performance in The First Avenger, as well as what this means for Bucky as he rediscovers and reasserts his identity in the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Something Dangerous" in Bucky Barnes

Dave Trumbore [interviewed Sebastian Stan](http://collider.com/sebastian-stan-captain-america-the-winter-soldier-interview/) before the release of _The Winter Soldier_ two years ago. Now that _Civil War_ has again raised the question of just _who_ Bucky Barnes really is, parts of this 2014 interview are more pertinent than ever. Consider Sebastian’s frank discussion of Bucky’s faults and his capacity for darkness:

> **DT:** Did you have a game plan as far as bridging between Bucky and The Winter Soldier in a way that movie audiences will really get what this is?
> 
> **SS:** [...] Bucky to me was always interesting because he was a little bit more…he stood out more clearly in terms of someone who, you know, had flaws. And though he was extremely loyal, and very caretaking, and there were a lot of endearing qualities about him that there were other things that…like, any muscle that you work out too much could sort of take over the rest. So, there were other things about him I always thought that, you know…I was hoping you could see in that first movie that if they sort of amplified that, that he could become something dangerous, necessarily so.
> 
> **DT:** Earlier you were talking about how you sort of tried to layer in elements of The Winter Soldier into your portrayal of Bucky in the first movie, but how much of the old Bucky will we see in The Winter Soldier, and how did you work to sort of pepper in those elements throughout this movie?
> 
> **SS:** [...] he’s still the same guy. He’s cut from the same cloth. [...] [In _The First Avenger_ ] you see that he’s a sniper and so on. There was just something about his face and his expression when he’s sort of, you know, saved Steve’s life and kind of shot someone without really being kind of ticked by it. I mean, there was just little things like that. Sort of that there was a little bit of an edge to him.

Before I explore Sebastian’s comments, I want to make it perfectly clear that I believe Bucky is not responsible for any of the actions he committed as the Winter Soldier. The brainwashing and torture he suffered through rendered him incapable of making his own choices while HYDRA used him to do their dirty work, and it took a miracle (in the form of Steve Rogers) to break through his programming.

That said, from a narrative and character analysis standpoint, it’s fascinating to examine the groundwork for the Winter Soldier that Sebastian laid within his performance in _TFA_ , as well as what this means for Bucky as he rediscovers and reasserts his identity in the future.

Bucky’s screentime in _TFA_ is probably much shorter than most fans realize. I was shocked to find that his scenes from the first film, when [ collected together](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLFDmaPcqXg), total to about thirteen minutes. It really speaks to Sebastian Stan’s acting abilities and charisma that Bucky makes such a lasting impression, and that he manages to bring so much depth to his character, with so little screentime.

It would be easy for Steve Rogers’ best friend to disappear beside him—and Bucky even jokingly expresses his fear that he’s “invisible” next to Captain America—but Sebastian’s nuanced performance makes this all but impossible. Bucky is a difficult character to pin down, and he resists fitting into simplified categories. In thirteen minutes, viewers witness a man who is protective, charming, deeply loyal, friendly, funny, and brave. But Bucky is also vain, hot-tempered, prone to jealousy, derisive, and a little bit mean.

Still, there’s not much about Bucky in _TFA_ that would overtly suggest he’ll someday become one of the world’s most ruthless, feared assassins—which makes sense, because the Winter Soldier is a persona that was thrust upon him, an identity he was forced to assume. If he’d had a choice in the matter, he never would have become a tool for HYDRA, so it makes sense that we see little of the his future self’s cold, emotionless affect in passionate, volatile Bucky Barnes.

Despite this, it’s quite possible to see the potential for danger within Bucky, a young man who is as combative as he is captivating. His “edge” is conveyed less through his actions and more through his attitude. With Steve, he often swings from playful and affectionate to challenging and aggressive. When he has a clean shot at an enemy, he takes it without hesitation and seems unbothered by killing. Even his attempted flirtation with Peggy has a confrontational air. Underneath all of his qualities, both the good and the bad, lurks that hint of “something dangerous” which Sebastian said he wanted to bring to his character. And later, in _TWS_ , that suggestion has flourished into a deadly reality.

It’s clear that the Bucky of _CW_ doubts his value and questions his complicity as HYDRA’s instrument. When Steve reassures him, saying that he wasn’t himself when he committed crimes as the Winter Soldier, Bucky replies, “I know... but I did it.” He’s very aware that HYDRA forged him into a weapon, but the implication here is that, at least to some degree, Bucky blames himself anyway. Maybe he feels weak for succumbing to torture and conditioning, or perhaps he wonders how much of the Winter Soldier was within him all along. And as _CW_ so brutally reminds us, his victims remain dead, regardless of their murderer’s culpability.

Bucky has regained many of his old memories in _CW_ , but he is still susceptible to his Winter Soldier programming, still shaped by the crimes committed with his hands (if not with his will). Too much has happened in the last seventy years for him to be the same Bucky Barnes that Steve Rogers knew and loved, but neither is he an obedient asset to HYDRA. His road to recovery will likely be one that moves both backward and forward, as he negotiates the man he used to be with the man he is becoming.


End file.
